CCA Oaks makes three Grade 1 Wins in a row for Abel Tasman

It was a very long plane ride to the East Coast for jockey Mike Smith after the stunning defeat of Arrogate yesterday at Del Mar. The trip was well worth it for the team of Smith and trainer Bob Baffert when Abel Tasman won a stretch battle to take the $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) at Saratoga by a head.

Once again, the Grade 1 feature at the Spa would be decided by the stewards, because right after the finish the INQUIRY went up concerning the battle to the finish between Abel Tasman and the eventual second place finisher, Elate. Smith had intentionally moved his mount from the middle of the track to the inside to make tight quarters between himself and Jose Ortiz who was aboard Elate. Ortiz also lodged a jockey’s objection.

"It's just good, old fashioned race riding,” said Smith. “By no means did I put her [Elate, No. 1] in any harm. My filly really waits. Once she was in there, she was engaged. I made sure that I didn't touch him [jockey Ortiz]. I made it tight, but there's no rules that say you can't make it tight. They make it tight on me all the time and I'm too old for that. It's a questionable move that I would have questioned myself if I got beat. But I didn't, so I liked it.

All day long, the Saratoga track has been deep and producing slow times. The field of seven did not have any horses that had ever shown that they like to run on the lead. Trainers and jockeys alike did not know what to expect once the race began.

When the starting gate sprung open, Salty, who was in the seven post-position, reared up and spotted the field several lengths. Initially Summer Luck, one of three runners for Mark Casse, went to the lead followed by Berned and Elate. However, they were going very slowly with the first quarter in 23.81 and the half in 48.83. Abel Tasman dropped back to sixth position and Smith sensed the slow pace and let his horse run. They quickly moved to contend the lead with Summer Luck and Elate.

Smith shared his strategy, "She scrambled early and got up. There was no pace in the race. Everyone threw the anchor out and went to slow down. She got into such a pretty stride and felt so good, I didn't want to get in the way of it. If I did, I felt like I'd hurt her more than help her. She's capable of that, and once she gets in that big, beautiful stride, that's where you want her. It was there. I took it. If I had got beat, it would have been horrible.”

After three quarters went in 1:13.92, Abel Tasman had the lead while running in the two-path. Summer Luck was in second and Elate was third, both were saving ground on the rail. In the meantime, Salty was recovering from her bad start and was making a wide run.

Heading into the stretch drive after a slow 1:39.14 mile, Summer Luck had dropped out of contention and the battle between Abel Tasman and Elate would be decided by the stewards. After a long deliberation, the decision once again was to make no change and the Baffert runner now has won three grade one races in a row after the Kentucky Oaks and the Acron and a total of four in her career including the Starlet as a juvenile.

For Smith this was his fifth CCA Oaks win with previous victories last year with Songbird, Jostle in 2000, Ajina 97, and in 1993 aboard Sky Beauty.

The CCA Oaks used to be the third jewel of the now defunct New York Triple Tiara for the three-year-old fillies. In its time, the Triple Tiara was swept by great fillies like: Shuvee 1969, Chris Evert 1974, Ruffian 1975, Davona Dale 1979, Open Mind 1989, and Sky Beauty 1993.

With this Grade 1victory, Abel Tasman has a stronghold on the three-year-old divisional championship. Even should Unique Bella return to the races in the fall, she will be very hard pressed to take the championship away from her West Coast rival.

The career record for the winner, who wears the silks of the China Horse Club, moves to 9: 6-2-0 with earnings of $1,447,060.

Abel Tasman was sent off as the odds-on favorite and paid $3.60, 2.50, 2.10 across the board. The $2 exacta with Elate paid $15.80 and the trifecta of the top three betting choices, including Salty, yielded $32.00.

Baffert did not make the trip east, so assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes said. "Abel is a phenomenal filly. It's her third Grade 1 in a row. We're blessed to have her. She's come through each and every time. She's had to travel three times now and that says a lot for her. To pick up from your home track, go to Churchill, go to Belmont with the big sandy track and then come here on opening weekend, it's very exciting for us."